A final humiliation for Starmer? Outgoing PM sees his Brexit 'reset' postponed as UK-EU summit is pushed back amid Labour's leadership crisis

By GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT and JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 15:51, 22 June 2026 | Updated: 15:53, 22 June 2026 Keir Starmer appeared to be dealt a final humiliation today after the UK-EU summit scheduled for next month was postponed amid Labour's leadership crisis. The Prime Minister had been hoping to finalise his much-trumpeted Brexit 'reset' deal at the Brussels meeting on 22 July. But, now that he has announced his intention to quit as PM once a replacement is chosen, Sir Keir has seen the summit pushed back. It means it will be up to Sir Keir's successor - widely expected to be ex-Greater Manchester mayor and new Makerfield MP Andy Burnham -  to formally sign off Labour's 'reset' package with EU leaders. Following Sir Keir's tearful resignation speech in Downing Street on Monday morning, a Government source confirmed the 22 July summit had been postponed. 'We remain committed to this process and to holding the next UK-EU summit at the earliest opportunity,' they added. 'We will set out further details in due course.' The postponement comes despite the date of the summit only being announced less than a week ago. Sir Keir agreed on the 22 July date during talks on the margins of the G7 summit in France with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and European Council president António Costa last Tuesday. The Prime Minister had been hoping to finalise his much-trumpeted Brexit'reset' deal at the Brussels meeting on 22 July It means it will be up to Keir Starmer's successor - widely expected to be new Makerfield MP Andy Burnham - to formally sign off Labour's 'reset' package with EU leaders The PM had been hoping to strike new co-operation agreements on food, energy and youth mobility as part of his 'reset' deal. But it will now be up to his replacement in No10 to decide whether they want to proceed with the package put together by Nick Thomas-Symonds, Sir Keir's EU relations minister. Mr Burnham is a supporter of closer ties with the EU and previously said he wanted to see the UK back in the Brussels-based bloc within his lifetime. But as he campaigned in the by-election to become MP for Makerfield, a Leave-voting constituency on the edge of Greater Manchester, he sought to play down these comments, and pledged not to 're-run' the arguments of Brexit. He said Brexit had been 'damaging' but 'Britain will be stuck in a permanent rut if we're just constantly arguing'. Labour's 'reset' plans have been criticised by Brexiteers for 'unpicking' the freedoms that the UK was afforded following the EU referendum vote a decade ago. There are concerns about Britain having to again follow EU rules in some areas under so-called 'dynamic alignment' with the bloc's regulations. And there are also worries about the size of a financial contribution the UK will have to make to Brussels for closer ties. A youth mobility deal, allowing British and EU member state citizens under 30 to live, work and study in each other's countries, is set to be agreed at the summit. But there have been wranglings over EU demands for European students to pay lower tuition fees in England. Negotiations have also stumbled over the setting of a cap on the numbers who can take part in the scheme, and uncertainty over the willingness of EU nations to issue visas for British youths. Ms Von der Leyen was among those to pay tribute to Sir Keir after he announced his resignation on Monday morning. Writing on social media, the European Commission president said: 'It can take many leaders years to grow into the statesman you became in just two years. 'European and Ukrainian security is stronger because of you. Thank you, dear Keir.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.